


Heartbreak and Happiness at the Terminal

by notherhappyending



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Airports, F/F, Femslash, Light Angst, Memories, Plane, Reunion, Swan Queen - Freeform, Swan-Mills Family, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 21:53:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5643247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notherhappyending/pseuds/notherhappyending
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU where just Emma leaves in S3, losing her memory of Storybrooke and everyone, and Henry stays with Regina. This is the story of the Swan-Mills family reunion and a true love kiss (because we've been woefully deprived of this in canon).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heartbreak and Happiness at the Terminal

**Author's Note:**

> Waiting for a flight back east, so I wrote a SQ thing. 
> 
> I'm a sucker for the bittersweet airport vibe.

Airports are an inherently emotional place. This thought haunts Emma as she makes her way through the eerily quiet walkway to her gate. It is late at night and everyone she passes seem to talk in hushed whispers. She passes a young woman, likely not even eighteen, sobbing into a phone. Her face is wet and red. She cries out for her mother. A minute later, she passes a man with a solemn face. He is rocking a tiny bundle. She does not see a mother anywhere. Yet another hundred steps further, she sees a brunette clutching a scarf talking excitedly into her handheld device. There are words like “finally” and “can’t wait”. _How nice that must be_ , Emma thinks, _to have someone waiting for her at the other terminal._

She pushes away the unpleasant thoughts that infringe on the calm of the coming flight. There is no reason to get caught up in this useless emotional frivolity. There has never really been someone to pick her up at the airport. She is not like these other passengers. Emma is stronger than this. She should be immune to airport emotions. But, there is a part of her that knows better. It is not that she misses anyone in particular or that she is lonely in the absence of someone. It is a melancholy. A part of her longs for something, or someone, that she has never met. _There must be more than this._

The flight takes off. Emma closes her eyes briefly after they begin to coast. She opens them again seconds later. She has never been able to sleep on a plane. The world outside is dark but she idly glances out the window anyhow. Sleep is a luxury. This job should be quick. Land in Maine, find the target, finish it. She will be back on a plane in no time. Emma rarely bothers with the overnight contracts, but this one struck her as different. When she received the voicemail, the sound of the woman on the line made her breath catch in her throat. She wanted to say no. Storybrooke. What a ridiculous name. But, there was a small part of her that obsessively clung to the idea of saying yes. And so, here she is on a red-eye flight with the world beneath her and the loneliness of the flight weighing on her heart. 

When the flight finally lands, the sun is beginning to peak above the horizon. Emma walks through the airport, passing by the baggage carousal. She had no need to bring anything with her. She feels the warmth of the three gin and tonics that she had on the plane across her cheeks. A coffee would be a good idea before picking up her rental car. 

“Mom!” 

Emma hears the excited voice of a little boy. It stirs something within her, as if the boy were calling out to her. But, that is impossible. She continues forward, feeling shame at this thought. She is no mother. 

“Mom!” 

The boy calls out again. She walks faster. 

“Mom! Emma!”

This time she swears that she hears her name. Emma sighs. It is possible that she might need to find a hotel too. Clearly she could use some sleep.

“Emma!”

A woman’s voice rings out now. It is unmistakably real. She turns around abruptly, looking for this other Emma who is clearly a mother and has people waiting for her. The second she turns around she sees the faces.

A boy with a scarf. A dark haired woman with hard eyes and a soft smile.

They wave at something in her direction. The woman holds a sign that says Swan in neat cursive. She turns around, looking for someone there. As she does this, a nagging feeling haunts the back of her mind. Emma. Swan. It must be her. There is no-one else in the terminal. 

The sunshine hits her feet, cascading in from the windows. The boy runs up to her, shouting out in excitement. She drops her bag as he makes contact with her. An affectionate barreling hug. It feels so right, but she does not know who this strange child is. She does not have a son. She has never had one. She gave that opportunity up about a decade ago. Then it hits her. This boy is about a decade old. _It can’t be._

“Emma.” The woman says with a knowing smile that plays coyly across her lips. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“You’re…” Emma takes a step back, eyes wide. “I know you.”

“I should think so, Miss Swan.” She laughs, amused.

“You’re the one who called me about the job.” Emma says, fumbling to pick up her bag and regain her professional manner. “You’re Regina.”

“I’m more than that.” Regina replies.

Then, she moves in and places a hand behind Emma’s head. She gently pulls Emma toward her into a long and warm kiss. It takes Emma by surprise, but then she falls into it, forgetting everything until she remembers everything.

“Regina.” She whispers, a tear rolling down her cheek. “You came for me.”

“Always.”


End file.
